Morde
Morde is the mountainous land of the dwarf people, lying to the south of Meäre. It is most commonly separated into three parts - the southern goldhills are home to the stout hill dwarves, known for their love of gold; the northern shieldmonts are the realm of the mountain dwarves, famed throughout Graeya for their exquisite craftsmanship, and the fire mountains of the east, home to arguably the most magnificent and renowned creatures in all of Graeya - the dragon. The south of Morde is covered in grassy mounds, under which dwell the hill dwarves, who mine deep into these hills for gold and other precious gems and ores. The hill dwarves are stout and stoic characters, known for their keen sense in locating precious ores and their remarkable resilience and character. To the north live the mountains dwarves. These dwarves dwell in huge citadels of stone and metal and are known for their craftsmanship and exquisite ability in making anything from furniture to weapons. Mountain dwarves are also accustomed to hard work in a rugged territory, and as such are known as gruff individuals. Finally, in the east are the fire mountains, a huge wall of burning volcanoes and jagged peaks that separate Morde from Meare. Apart from a few slim passages through the cliffs, The mountains serve as an almost impassable barrier. The terrain is also birthplace to the most feared creature in all of Graeya - legend has it that the first dragons arose from the ashes of the burning volcanoes. ‍ The ''Goldhills'' and the Hill Dwarves. The goldhills are a rolling plain of pure green, only broken by the dark earthy brown of the hills that jut out, larger than their brethren. These larger hills are home to hill dwarf strongholds, and are distinguished by the thick and heavily built fortifications that sprout up out of nowhere. Most of the populace lives underground in these strongholds, but despite this hill dwarves love the fresh air and open plains of their homeland. They also love gold, jewels, and other rich things. Dwarves crave these beautiful objects and are constantly mining deeper in search of them. All hill dwarves have a strong sense of kinship, and each individual hill dwarf stronghold is ruled over by a clan leader. These clans answer to the dwarven king, Ulfgar the Indomitable of clan Fireforge, who is a mountain dwarf, and has his stronghold in the north of the goldhills, bordering on the shieldmonts. Despite being two separate ethnicities and culture, the dwarves are all ruled over by this one king. Every hill dwarf has a strong affiliation with his clan, and their lives revolve around mining, fighting, and family. ‍ The Shieldmonts and the Mountain Dwarves The north of Morde is a land of harsh and ragged peaks; the outer wall of the shieldmonts is natural impassable, and only the tunnels mined out by generations of mountain dwarves allow deeper incursion into the area. The mountain dwarves live in huge citadels that burrow deep into the mountains. These huge fortifications are carved of the mountains themselves, and as such are extremely strong. As one approaches a citadel, it seems to almost draw out of the mountain itself. Like the hill dwarves, mountain dwarves have a strong sense of family, and ties go back generations. Each Citadel is the domain of a separate dwarven clan and is lorded over by the head of the clan, who is in turn lorded over by Ulfgar, the dwarven king, who’s mountain citadel sits on the very border between the shieldmonts and the goldhills. The shieldmonts are renowned for their craftsmanship and beautiful creations. They create objects of beauty that some argue are even more glorious than those of the elves, and the dwarves don’t use any magic to forge their works of art. ‍ ‍ The Fire Mountains ]To the east, wrapped in clouds of swirling ash and rivers of red magma lay the fire mountains. These mountains are even more rugged and impassable than the shieldmonts, only cut through by thin natural chasms that are occasionally swamped by streams of flowing lava and falling rock. As such, next to no one passes through these mountains, and they are untamed wilderness, brimming with exotic wildlife, from basic fire elementals to fearsome red dragons. The fire mountains are a mostly unchartered realm, but legend and lore surround and envelope them. Some say that the very first dragons flew from the volcanoes that spring from the rugged peaks, and that primordial dwarves were shaped in the rock and magma that flows through the mountains like a river of pure fire.